MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on Iran
3.2.2010
pursuant to Rule 110(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Cornelia Ernst, Helmut Scholz on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0078/2010
B7‑0086/2009
European Parliament resolution on Iran
The European Parliament,
– having regard to the presidential elections of 12 June 2009 and the subsequent unrest in Iran,
– having regard to the Resolution adopted by the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 27 November 2009 on the Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and relevant provisions of Security Council Resolutions 1737 (2006), 1747 (2007), 1803 (2008) and 1835 (2008) in the Islamic Republic of Iran,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran, notably those of 7 May and 22 October 2009,
– having regard to the UN General Assembly Resolution of 29 October 2009 on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran,
– having regard to the European Council Declaration of 10/11 December 2009,
– having regard to the 4th EP-Iran interparliamentary meeting originally scheduled to be held in Tehran from 9 to 11 January 2010, which was cancelled by the Iranian side,
– having regard to Rule 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
On democracy and human rights
A. whereas there are serious indications that the June presidential elections were marred by massive fraud, which resulted in a large-scale protest movement (called the 'Green Movement') with mass demonstrations inside and outside Iran, continuing in recent months,
B. whereas Iran’s security forces – Revolutionary Guards, Basij militia and police – have reacted with a severe crackdown, arbitrarily arresting thousands of peaceful protesters and dissidents, including students and academics, women’s rights activists, lawyers, journalists, bloggers, clerics and prominent human rights defenders, in a clear effort to intimidate critics and stifle dissent,
C. whereas in addition security forces have increased systematic harassment against members of religious minorities, such as Baha’is and Sunnis, and carried out a campaign of arbitrary arrests and executions against Kurdish, Azeri, Baluchi and Arab civil society and political activists,
D. whereas dozens of protesters have died as a result of attacks by security forces or in detention, and whereas thousands have been detained and some 300 activists remain in jail; whereas many of those arrested have reportedly been beaten and tortured, and in some cases sexually assaulted, in prisons and secret detention facilities; whereas hundreds of Iranians involved in the demonstrations have reportedly left the country out of fear of retaliation and are in desperate research of a safe haven in neighbouring countries and in Europe,
E. whereas a parliamentary inquiry determined in early 2010 that Deputy Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi was directly responsible for the deaths of at least three detainees from torture and neglect in Kahrizak prison,
F. whereas on 28 January 2010 Mohammad Reza Ali-Zamani and Arash Rahmanipour were executed, theirs being the first death sentences to be carried out which have been linked by official sources to the protest movement, despite the fact that at least one of them, if not both, were already imprisoned at the time of the elections, and whereas reportedly at least nine people have been condemned to death for alleged links to the Green Movement,
G. whereas from the beginning of August, the judiciary staged mass show trials of hundreds of prominent reformers and activists, with apparently coerced TV confessions resulting in the sentencing of some to lengthy prison terms and even to death,
H. whereas on 27 December, the final day of the Ashura rites, Ali Mousavi, the 35-year-old nephew of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the main presidential contender in the June elections, was shot dead and deliberately run over by a car in what bears all the hallmarks of a targeted assassination to serve as a strong warning to his uncle,
I. whereas physicist Masoud Ali Mohammadi was assassinated in a bomb blast in what many believe was a warning to university professors and students because Mr Mohammadi reportedly played an important role in persuading 400 other scientists to publicly support the opposition leader Moussavi while encouraging his students to participate in peaceful demonstrations after the June elections,
J. whereas in the aftermath of the mass demonstrations on 27 December, Iran accused Western powers of fomenting the unrest, expelled two British diplomats, detained a Swedish diplomat for 24 hours and accused German Embassy personnel of actively supporting the protest movement,
K. whereas in the aftermath of the elections, the Iranian authorities embarked upon large-scale and frequent jamming of international radio and TV networks and blocking of many international websites, including Facebook and Twitter, as well as local opposition sites and mobile phone services in Tehran, thereby also causing transmission problems for networks in other Middle Eastern countries and even in Europe,
L. whereas European and Russian companies have been providing Iran with the necessary filtering and jamming devices, some of which might even pose health risks to the population in the neighbourhood of the installations,
On the nuclear issue
M. whereas in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Iran has clandestinely constructed an enrichment facility at Qom and only notified the IAEA of its existence long after its construction began, and whereas this violation of the rules gives rise to speculation about possible additional secret nuclear sites and further undermines trust in Iranian assurances about the purely civil character of the country's nuclear programme,
N. whereas in the interests of finding a diplomatic solution to the issue of Iran's nuclear programme, the EU, the United States, China and Russia proposed an agreement under the auspices of the IAEA to ship Iran's existing low-enriched uranium to Russia and France for processing into fuel rods to keep the Tehran medical research reactor running,
O. whereas since Iran rejected this proposal debates have been ongoing in the Security Council on reinforced sanctions against Iran,
On democracy and human rights
1. Expresses its grave concern that the alleged widespread electoral fraud during Iran's presidential elections of June 2009 has not led to any serious investigation by Parliament or by Supreme Leader Khamenei and considers that the legitimacy of President Ahmedinejad's term of office is seriously compromised despite his confirmation by the Supreme Leader;
2. Expresses its admiration for the courage of the tens of thousands of Iranians who continue to risk their professional careers and lives by calling for greater freedom and more democratic rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran;
3. Profoundly deplores the fact that the Iranian Government and Parliament are apparently incapable of responding in a constructive way to the justified demands of a young, educated and dynamic generation of Iranians who have seen their hopes for economic and social development stifled for too long;
4. Strongly condemns the systematic and brutal targeting of peaceful demonstrators and government critics by security forces, as well as the shutting-down of newspapers and the forcible closure of offices of human rights organisations;
5. Calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately free all those detained for peacefully exercising their rights to free expression, association and assembly and to investigate and prosecute government officials and members of the security forces responsible for the killing, abuse and torture of family members of dissidents, demonstrators and detainees;
6. Reiterates its calls on the Iranian judiciary to declare a moratorium on capital punishment and to unambiguously prohibit juvenile executions;
7. Calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately stop the practice of televised show trials and calls on the Iranian Parliament to amend those elements in Iranian law which allow the government to deny due process rights such as defendants' access to adequate legal representation;
8. Condemns the Iranian authorities' efforts to censor the print media, to jam radio and television, for example the BBC, and to block the Internet, and calls on the EU and its Member States to address the international fall-out from these methods in the context of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU);
9. Strongly criticises international companies, and notably Nokia/Siemens, for providing the Iranian authorities with the necessary censorship and surveillance technology, thus being instrumental in persecution and arrests of Iranian dissidents;
On the nuclear issue
10. Deeply deplores the fact that the Iranian Government has again rejected all attempts to compromise over the nuclear issue and that the Ahmedinejad Government apparently wishes to exploit the subject in order to deflect attention from the internal crisis in the country;
11. Calls on Iran and those countries in the Middle East which are considering investing in nuclear power not to repeat the errors of many EU countries in favouring a dangerous and outdated technology; instead appeals to those countries to develop all options of modern renewable energy technologies, efficiency and conservation methods;
12. Insists on a peaceful political settlement to the dispute over Iran's nuclear programmes; reaffirms its opposition to any military action or threat of use of force and warns that any military action would lead to a deeper crisis in the region; expresses its serious preoccupation about the reinforced military presence of the United States in the region;
13. Calls for the continuation of efforts to find a comprehensive and equitable negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue on the basis of the recognition of Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear activities and of verifiable assurances from Iran as to the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme; is firmly convinced that dialogue and diplomacy can achieve a realistic, long-term solution to the Iranian issue, within a multilateral framework under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna;
14. Reiterates its call for strict application of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by all sides and in all respects; reiterates its call on all nuclear weapons states to take progressive steps to reduce nuclear warhead numbers, phase out the role of nuclear weapons in security policy and support a nuclear weapon-free zone in Europe and the Middle East;
15. Reiterates its call on the Iranian Parliament and Government to ratify and implement the Additional Protocol and to fully implement the provisions of the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement;
16. Expresses its concern at the fact that Israel, India and Pakistan have not become States Parties to the NPT; calls on those countries to become States Parties to that Treaty; reiterates its deep regret about the nuclear agreements concluded between the US, France and India, which defy the logic of the NPT by making India the only known country with nuclear weapons allowed to carry out nuclear trade - including enrichment - with the rest of the world despite not being a party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty; takes the view that negotiations on the establishment of a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East and the Mediterranean could be an important step towards meeting the security concerns of the countries of that region; calls on the EU-3 to introduce this idea into the negotiations with Iran;
17. Reiterates in this context its general opposition to the use of nuclear energy because of its inherent severe risks, the insoluble waste problem, high costs and the intrinsic link to nuclear weapons;
On future EU-Iran relations
18. Draws attention to the fact that the sanctions against Iran have not produced any useful result for the solution of the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme; expresses its concern that new sanctions could have negative consequences for the Iranian population; calls therefore on the EU to continue the diplomatic efforts and not to agree with new sanctions against Iran;
19. Reminds the Council and the Member States that nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation are substantively interrelated and mutually reinforcing; calls therefore on the EU Member States to take progressive steps to phase out the role of nuclear weapons in security policy and to start visible measures to make Europe a nuclear weapons-free zone;
20. Underlines the importance of the continuation of dialogue with Iran on all levels, and in particular with civil society; deplores the fact that the Iranian side postponed the visit by the delegation of the European Parliament scheduled for 8-11 January 2010; expresses its interest in continuing and intensifying the direct dialogue with Iranian society and expresses its hope that the Iranian Government and Parliament will review their position on direct contacts;
21. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the UN Security Council, the UN Commission on Human Rights and the Government and Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran.